By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, October 18, 2024
Stan Wawrinka toppled Andrey Rublev 7-6(5), 7-6(5) scoring his first Top 10 win in a year to become the oldest Stockholm semifinalist in history.
Photo credit: Anders Wiklund-TT News Agency-AFP-Getty
At a time when his contemporaries are taking well-deserved curtain calls, Stan Wawrinka continues shining on the Stockholm stage.
The 39-year-old Wawrinka toppled top-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6(5), 7-6(5) scoring his first Top 10 win in a year to become the oldest Stockholm semifinalist in history.
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On match point, Wawrkina whipped his signature shot, the backhand down the line, to close a dynamic one hour, 55-minute victory.
The ageless Wawrinka is the third oldest semifinalist in ATP history following Jimmy Connors, who was 40 years, 5 months when he reached the 1993 San Francisco semifinals and Ivo Karlovic, who was 39 years, 10 months when he made the final four at the 2019 Pune.
"I cannot change my age," a smiling Wawrinka said. "As I said, the most important thing for me is when I enter the court, I always fight. I always fight to improve what I'm doing.
"The reason I keep going is to play the matches like this with so many people, good energy on the court and I'm super happy to have the chance to play one more match tomorrow."
Wild card Wawrinka posted his first Top 10 win since he upset Frances Tiafoe at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
Some champions have no expiration date: Wawrinka became the second oldest man in this century to score a Top 10 win following 40-year-old Feliciano Lopez, who upset Rublev in a 2021 Davis Cup match.
Facing one of the game's most powerful baseliners, Wawrinka showed staying power.
The three-time Grand Slam champion cranked 33 winners, including 14 aces.
Wawrinka raced out to a 6-2 tiebreaker lead then converted his fourth set point for a one-set lead.
The pair exchanged breaks in the second and third games of set two. Wawrinka saved a break point holding for 6-5 before Rublev stamped a love hold to force the second-set tiebreaker.
This Stockholm semifinal win propels Wawrinka 50 spots to No. 167 in the ATP live rankings.
Wawrinka will take on American Tommy Paul for a place in the Stockholm final.
Earlier, the fourth-seeded Paul converted four of eight break points in a 7-6(9), 6-2 win over Miomir Kecmanovic. Paul saved set point at 7-8 in the tiebreaker before converting his fifth set point to cap a physical first set.
Paul improved to 43-17 on the season advancing to his 14th career semifinal, including his sixth semifinal of 2024.